Condensed Consolidated Statements of (Loss) Income - USD ($) $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2015	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2015
Condensed Consolidated Statements of (Loss) Income [Abstract]
Operating revenues (net of contractual allowances and discounts)	$ 5,084	$ 5,580	$ 16,128	$ 16,840
Provision for bad debts	704	734	2,159	2,201
Net operating revenues	4,380	4,846	13,969	14,639
Operating costs and expenses:
Salaries and benefits	2,067	2,240	6,537	6,714
Supplies	723	762	2,281	2,274
Other operating expenses	1,026	1,144	3,256	3,370
Government and other legal settlements and related costs	10		10	1
Electronic health records incentive reimbursement	(5)	(54)	(54)	(135)
Rent	109	115	340	344
Depreciation and amortization	265	288	839	875
Impairment of goodwill and long-lived assets	39		1,695	6
Total operating costs and expenses	4,234	4,495	14,904	13,449
Income (loss) from operations	146	351	(935)	1,190
Interest expense, net	233	242	730	723
Loss from early extinguishment of debt			30	16
Gain on sale of investments in unconsolidated affiliates			(94)
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates	(4)	(12)	(38)	(51)
(Loss) income from continuing operations before income taxes	(83)	121	(1,563)	502
(Benefit from) provision for income taxes	(29)	38	(141)	167
(Loss) income from continuing operations	(54)	83	(1,422)	335
Discontinued operations, net of taxes:
Loss from operations of entities sold or held for sale	(2)	(5)	(4)	(22)
Impairment of hospitals sold or held for sale			(1)	(2)
Loss on sale, net		(3)		(3)
Loss from discontinued operations, net of taxes	(2)	(8)	(5)	(27)
Net (loss) income	(56)	75	(1,427)	308
Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	23	23	73	67
Net (loss) income attributable to Community Health Systems, Inc. stockholders	$ (79)	$ 52	$ (1,500)	$ 241
Basic (loss) earnings per share attributable to Community Health Systems, Inc. common stockholders:
Continuing operations	$ (0.69)	$ 0.52	$ (13.50)	$ 2.33
Discontinued operations	(0.02)	(0.07)	(0.05)	(0.24)
Net (loss) income	(0.71)	0.45	(13.55)	2.09
Diluted (loss) earnings per share attributable to Community Health Systems, Inc. common stockholders:
Continuing operations	(0.69)	0.51	(13.50)	2.32
Discontinued operations	(0.02)	(0.07)	(0.05)	(0.24)
Net (loss) income	$ (0.71)	$ 0.44	$ (13.55)	$ 2.08
Weighted-average number of shares outstanding:
Basic	110,888,040	115,319,986	110,672,520	114,981,457
Diluted	110,888,040	116,368,157	110,672,520	115,845,181